Crate.



O. J. ROTHERMEL.

CRATE.

APPLIUATION FILED DBO. 23, 1913.

Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

Curz als Jfiz er77zeZ I THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTQLITHQ. WASHINGTON,04 C CURTIS J. ROTI-IERMEL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented an. 5," iaia.

Application filed December 23, 1913. Serial No. 808,409.

To all whom it may concern Be it known'that I, CURTIS J. ROTHERMEL, acitizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Grates, of which the following is a specification.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a construction of cratefor shipping material in rolls, such as linoleum, oil cloth and roofing,wall and other paper, which requires to be protected against marring ofits exposed surface, which is liable to such marring by rubbing againstit of the sharp edges of the slats in tightening them about the roll andwhile the package is in transit.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of a section ofcrate-material constructed in accordance with my improvement; Fig. 2 isan end view of my improved crate bound about a roll of material to forma package thereof for shipment; Fig. 3 is a similar view of the samewith the heads omitted; Fig. 4L is a perspective view of a brokensection of one of the slats, showing its longitudinally-grooved innerface, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the members of the two-parthead for each end of the crate.

To form my improved crate I fasten together in suitable spaced relation,preferably by means of sheet-metal bands 6 at intervals, wooden slats 7in desired length and width and of general rectangular crosssection andhaving flat outer faces, to which the bands are riveted or nailed, butwith their inner faces, or those which contact with the outer face of aroll 8 of linoleum, or the like, to be protected, longitudinallyconcaved, as shown at 9. The curve in crosssection of each concavity 9is formed to fit more or less accurately the contour of the roll, sothat those for crates to be used on rolls 8 varying materially indiameter, must be formed differently, as to their curves incross-section, to conform to the different arcs presented by the variouscontours of the rolls. To form a package of a roll 8 for shipment, asection of the crate-material, such as is represented in Fig. l, iswrapped around the roll and the bands are riveted together or otherwisefastened at their overlapping ends. The bands are secured intermediatetheir ends to the flat outer surfaces of the slats 7. These flat bandsare preferable to the round-wire form thereof for binding the package,since such wires cut into the slats, thereby loosening the confinementof the roll and permitting the latter to be shifted about in the cratewith liability to resultant injury from rubbing against the innercorners of the slats.

Where the package is required to be headed, I provide on each end a head10 formed of two similar wooden blocks 11 and 12 with their ends roundedto conform to the curve of the slat-grooves and recessed, as shown inFig. 5, crosswise of the grain of the wood on their opposing faces tostrengthen them and prevent warping. These head-sections are nailedtogether crosswise with their recessed faces interfitting, and the slatsfit at the groove sections of their end-portions against theconvexlycurved ends of the head-members, to which they are fastened, asby nailing.

Besides the advantage referred to of my improved crate-construction, inpreventing the surface of the contained roll from be coming marred byconforming to the cylindrical shape of the roll, the width and weight ofthe package are reduced to the minimum, which adapts it'to take up lessroom and weigh less in shipment than the ordinary crate of rectangularcross'section, thereby economizing materially in the expense oftransportation. Moreover, since the general rectangular shape incross-section of each stave is not changed by con caving it along itsinner face, it is not weakened thereby, so that my improved crate isequally as strong as the ordinary crate and is devoid of itsdisadvantages.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A crate for material in a roll, comprising a plurality of spacedslats, bands con necting said slats, the outer, side and end faces ofsaid slats being plane, and the inner faces of said slats concaved toconform to and fit against the outer cylindrical surface of the roll.

2. A headed crate for material in a roll, comprising a plurality ofspaced, band-con nected slats having fiat outer surfaces and havingtheir inner faces longitudinally concaved to conform to and fit againstthe porplane, said blocks having curved ends tions coveredby them of theontersurface pf against which the concaved end-portions of the rqih andheadseacli formed of, apair of the slats fit and are fastened.

crossed wcbden blocks recessed and interfit- CURTIS J. ROTHERMEL. 5 tingat the recesses in their opposing faces In presence of at which they aresecured together; and hav- A. O. FISCHEiZ,

ing their outer faces disposed in the same 0. C. AvIsUs.

copiel of this patent may be obtained for flveeents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

